Good first half in Ravens telecast marred by late Fox letdown

The Fox broadcast team gave viewers a good half of a telecast Sunday in the Ravens' season-ending 24-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. And then they got a little goofy and almost as sloppy as the play on the field in the second half.

I can't say I blame the team of Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Tony Siragusa, which became one of my favorites this year. The Ravens lost their focus and any real chance of winning in the final minutes of a lost season. And with the impending victory, the Bengals had done all they could Sunday to position themselves in the playoffs – the rest was out of their hands.

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But still, Siragusa played for Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis when he was defensive coordinator for the Ravens, so the one-time defensive standout, at least, should have learned from Lewis how important it is to "close" – stay focused and strong until the final whistle. And that's exactly what he and his broadcast team didn't do.

With 13:56 left in the 3rd quarter, while Davis and Siragusa were joking around about the faux fur jacket Siragusa was wearing on the sidelines, the Bengals came up with a big interception.

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The cameras showed the interception rather than Siragusa stroking his jacket as he had been doing just seconds earlier. And the replays showed viewers how and why it happened.

Furthermore, once they had shown the jacket, I have to admit I was wondering whether or not it was real fur. I was hoping it wasn't, because I've come to like Siragusa. (I also hope he was telling the truth when he said it was fake.)

But all that said, the telecast should be about the play on the field – not what the sideline reporter-analyst is wearing. And, at the point where Siragusa's jacket became the visual and verbal focus of the telecast, it was still a contest.

The joking around by Siragusa and Davis was exactly the kind of goofball antics I praised this crew for not doing in another telecast earlier this year. I thought it showed professionalism, growth and a commitment to serving viewers first.

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But the descent into silliness continued. By the time Fox showed Siragusa dancing on the sidelines with 6:55 left in the third quarter, we were heading deep into clown country.

Even if you smile at Siragusa's antics, that kind of loss of focus is contagious for the rest of the crew.

Brennaman has become one of the more focused and disciplined play-by-play announcers at Fox. But with 8:47 left in the game, even he was getting a little punchy.

All afternoon, Fox had been cutting back to other games with heavy playoff implications, including the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills contest.

With 8:47 left in the Ravens game, Brennaman told viewers of a big play that would contribute significantly to a Bills victory.

"A huge interception thrown just moments ago by Mallett down at the Buffalo eight [yard line]," he said.

Except Ryan Mallett was the quarterback for the Ravens, not the one who threw the interception in the Jets-Bills battle.

Brennaman did correct himself. But it took 40 seconds.

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"I misspoke a moment ago," he told viewers. "It's Ryan Fitzpatrick who threw the interception at the Buffalo eight, not Mallett."

Overall, the Fox crew did not have any huge gaffes, and it did catch and correct all mistakes eventually. Again, it did some fine work in the first half.

But, as Lewis preached as defensive coordinator in Baltimore, the game is 60 minutes long – even when it's the last game of the regular season and it's all over but the final goodbye to viewers.